Video game maker Atari's U.S. operations have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in an effort to separate from their French parent company, which is filing a similar motion separately in France. Atari says the move is necessary to secure investments it needs to grow in mobile and downloadable video games.

Sony isn't about to give up on console and dedicated handheld gaming platforms, but it's willing to bet on a new horse. The Japanese giant is acquiring California-based Gaikai, a cloud based gaming firm, in a $380 million deal.

Ahead of the E3 conference, Nintendo has unveiled a new controller that it hopes will revolutionize the way video games are played: the Wii U GamePad, with both traditional controls and a touchscreen. Can it revive Nintendo's fortunes?

Folks aren't buying video games the way they used to -- and that's a problem for the industry. But if the big players are willing to consider some outrageous strategies, they can buy themselves some bonus lives.

Let's go over some items that will help shape the week ahead for Wall Street: The Hunger Games will give theaters a much needed boost; FuelBand may do the same for Nike; video game sellers hunger for hits; and Tiffany and Oracle will give us clues about the recovery.

Zynga is the undisputed king of social gaming for Facebook and smartphones, and its stock price gives it a market cap nearly as big as video game leader Activision Blizzard. But at less than 5 years old, has the bulldog already jumped the shark?

The latest news on the video game front isn't pretty. Media tracker NPD Group's data reveals that industry sales plunged 21% last month. It's clear that the industry is undergoing a radical shift, but for investors, the more important issue is why.

Suddenly, Majesco Entertainment isn't living up to its COOL ticker symbol. Shares of the video game developer and publisher got crushed on Tuesday after it surprised the markets by following its previous three blowout quarters with a loss for Q4.

If you're not familiar with Zynga, the undisputed champ of social gaming, odds are that you're not a fixture on Facebook or into smartphone app gaming. This month, it rolls the dice on a big public offering. Are you game?

Yes, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 posted a new sales record last week. But Activision Blizzard just can't keep a hold on fickle gamers. Guitar Hero hit a high note, then went silent, and now World of Warcraft is losing population fast.

For many years, GameStop has had a business model that couldn't fail: Sell the hottest new gaming gear, take used games and equipment in trade, keep knowledgeable staff, and don't overpay on rent. But that model is starting collapse, and soon, it may be "Game Over" for GameStop.

Consumers can expect a holiday shopping season heavy on promotional offers as stores offer sweet bargains on all manner of products amid a still-sluggish economy -- good news for buyers of tablet computers, smartphones and video games, all predicted to be big gift items this year.

Once upon a time, Nintendo was king of the video game consoles, but that day is long gone. Shares of Nintendo hit a five-year low this summer, wiping away any gains from the Wii era, and it took a steep operating loss to boot last quarter. Here's why there are no bonus lives in its future.

if(typeof AOLVP_cfg==='undefined')AOLVP_cfg=[];AOLVP_cfg.push({id:'AOLVP_us_1027591056001','codever':0.1,'autoload':false,'autoplay':true,'playerid':'61371447001','videoid':'1027591056001','stillurl':'http://www.blogcdn.com/www.dailyfinance.com/media/2011/06/teeny-bikini-284cs060811.jpg','publisherid':1612833736,'width':284,'height':160,'playbutton':false,'bgcolor':''});In a 7-2 ruling, the Supreme Court Monday granted the video game industry some serious leeway, striking down California's ban on the sale of violent video games to minors. Here's more on what it means for the industry.

Summer vacation has hardly begun, and the chorus of "buy me, buy me" is already at full volume in homes across the country. And parents can only say no to so many of those requests. So which companies are gong to benefit from the school break? DailyFinance has a few ideas.

Under pressure to respond to competitors offering souped-up features for their video game systems, Nintendo announced Monday that it will offer a sneak peak of the Wii's successor in June. But while consumers may love the shiny new system, the real question is how much it will cost.

Activision Blizzard's shares fell after the video-game maker forecast that 2011 sales would fall short of analysts' estimates and announced that it would cease creating Guitar Hero games because of lackluster sales.

Microsoft sold out of its Xbox video-game console in late December thanks to strong holiday-season demand, and may have product shortages in January and February as well, as the company's Kinect motion-sensor device has boosted the popularity of the system, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported.